Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger

Moon Tiger has the kind of heroine that appeals to me, red-haired, sharp-tongued and quick-witted. The kind of woman who travels to exotic places, verbally spars with male colleagues and takes lovers.

The Plot: Dying in her hospital bed, Claudia reminisces about her life and the men she has loved; Gordon, her brother and rival, Jasper, fickle and charming and Tom, the love of her life. Non-linear, the narrative skips between Claudia's childhood, her time as a war correspondent in Egypt and her dotage.

Rating: ««««¶ (4/5)

For my full review click under the jump, but in brief if you enjoy novels such as Julian Barnes Sense of an Ending or Alison Moore's The Lighthouse, books about retrospection and nostalgia, this should also appeal to you. Moon Tiger is full of charm, glamour and truth.  

As I've already said, Claudia makes this novel, her capricious and selfish behaviour make her both fascinating and unsympathetic; but at the same time I kind of wanted to be her, as she is also adventurous and passionate. Her experience as a war correspondent is both glamorous and tragic, as her lover is killed in battle. The novel relies on the strength and complexity of Claudia's character to be compelling, and she is so vivacious so is the novel. 

I do have one criticism (no review of mine is complete without one), I wish Claudia's relationship with Gordon could have remained as just sibling rivalry, I found their incestuous liaison unnecessarily. I felt it cheapened the novel and was gimmicky attempt at sensationalising the story.

Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize in 1987, I don't know what the competition was like, but I'm unsurprised that Lively's work received critical acclaim. As an author she uses words economically, but still manages to convey characters emotions and perspectives and give a feel of time and place astutely. Claudia's interactions with her conservative daughter, Lisa, are revealing in what is said, but also in spaces between words. There is only a handful of conversations between Lisa and Claudia in the entire novel, but love and dissatisfaction in their relationship is painfully transparent. Moon Tiger is short, at a mere 208 pages, but it is complete and fully realised.

I picked Moon Tiger on a whim, knowing nothing about neither the book or the author, and I'm really pleased I did. It's the sort of novel that stays with you, impressing with both writing style and narrative.

If you're looking to read more novels about World War II, why not take a quick look at my suggestions here.